Friday Cocktail and end of week talk

[rumrocks]

Interesting comments.

But the American people voted, we all knew he would win because normal Americans were sick of actors, woke and politicians. Harris was a idiot bigger than Trudeau and Biden.

Doge I like its time to clean up waste.

Term limits in gov is also needed.

People need to get back to work.

Harris would have been a puppet in Washington with little say in policy.
Trudeau however was able to make some of his own policy and even was allowed to pull a string once in while.
Think the toddler steering wheel in the shopping cart.
I give the nod to the PM.

[foragefarmer]

Sk3

"The Canadian system doesn’t work anymore."

Did you receive stellar medical attention in Regina a couple of years ago?

[SASKFARMER]

Yea you get stellar in Sask if you are deaths door.

Anything just normal healthcare south is better

[farmaholic]

In some instances I find our healthcare a bit too much reactive instead of proactive.

Another thing I noticed while visiting people in the hospital is there seems to be ALOT of staff compared to patients. I don't know what the actual ratio is but the halls(and the ward's nursing station) seem full of staff. All that being said, when my dad was in the hospital the level of care seemed quite good in my opinion.

But waiting months to see a specialist in a non-emergency situation seems like a long time, hence the reactive instead of proactive comment. A patient may not be in immediate peril but there could be symptoms leading up to a much more serious matter that may only get worse waiting in the que to see someone or have an exploratory procedure performed. I don't know where the balance is....

Another thing I noticed while my dad needed medical attention, and we were relegated to the emergency department, was how many "lifestyle" emergencies there appeared to be.

Get a load of this, I know a married couple that are both health compromised, one is overweight with COPD, their spouse was radiated for throat cancer..... and both continue to smoke!?!?!?
Yet someone trying to live a healthy lifestyle and hopefully nip a potential problem in the bud has to go on the waiting list to see a specialist or have an imaging procedure done.

If there is only a public health system, I have no idea how to fix it. Is it too bureaucratic? Is it too wasteful? Has it(was it able to) keep up with the increase in population? Should there be a minimum charge to the patient to see the doctor(I guess that would be the first line of defense general practitioners). Should there be a private option for those who want to skip the public system? Sask is trying the "Urgent Care" approach meant to keep lesser problems out of the emergency departments. And then there is the rural healthcare staffing dilemma, especially doctors. Why not encourage the local people who are academic enough to become a doctor to pursue it? There is a better chance of retaining them in remote areas if those areas are where they grew up, not relying on immigrant doctors to fill those spaces when they might want a practice in the larger cities.

It's complex and dynamic, and a huge portion of the provincial budget already gets spent on health care...

[goalieguy847]

They do all of these things...
towns have built homes for the doctors. Increasd pay in rural towns. Our small town has cut any and all taxes for the doctors in town. Anything to incentivize them to come and stick around.

I have to say...
Its a double edged sword.
an ex was ( is now) a doctor in New york not far from where i went to university.. and their system is incredibly.. incredibly effed. Its definitely built to help those with money.. and leave those without behind.
Great if you have it. Horrid if you dont.
Pretty sure the [NODE="1"]Home[/NODE] reason for bankruptcy in the USA is healthcare related debt.
shocking actually.

I still have many friends with young families ( im late 30s ) who pay well over 10 k per year for a family of 4 on top of existing plans.
Thw interesting thing is that each state has different rules.. etc...so rates and co pays can vary wildly.
Usa has alot higher population and most certainly a much more agreeable climate and a MUCH higher pay rate for the avg doctor. 2 of my buds i graduated with are doctors down in the US and it is strictly about money why they are there ( however they had HUGE student loan debts compared to what they would have in Canada so money was a big deciding factor)

Personally,
I think the private system sucks for both healthcare and for education..
i firmly believe that govt meddling has created alot of the problems we are seeing in our healthcare systems.... for example... ahem..... WHATEVER IT IS THAT DANIELLE SMITH AND THESE GARBAGE UCP HAVE BEEN UP TO.

And yes. It is their fault. They wanted 11k people to move to alberta / month but held back funding and fought with doctors/ nurses over pay.
Create a problem then destroy everything to privatize the solution!

There are no easy answers to the healthcare crisis in canada...
But 1 easy way to start ( sadly) would be to absolutely terrorize anyone who wants to import/sell/ traffic fentanyl and opioids to the point that nobody will want to do it. Opioid related hospital visits are half the problem at the hospitals...

[farmaholic]

Healthcare a socialist ideology. It doesn't matter how healthy or unhealthy of a lifestyle you lead or how much or little tax you pay..... the Canadian Healthcare system is "equal access"(with a bit of private access in some provinces(?).

If it somehow gets privatized, health insurance premiums shouldn't be onerously financially crippling. I assume there must be a level of regulation in the American system.
Does the American system let people die in the doorway if they have no insurance or can't afford to pay?

Should healthcare be for profit or a public service? Canada doesn't have "free" healthcare either, it's taxpayer funded(thats not breaking news to most people). What's needed in Canada is efficiency, and in a private for profiit system, no gouging.

[Landdownunder]

huh Farma???? Im confused you aint got this option
Should there be a private option for those who want to skip the public system?

Y'all know im a train wreck both hips replaced knee replaced shoulder held together with screw latest only 3 weeks ago scaphoidectomy and four corner fusion yup more screws all in private system if I was in public probably only have one hip done.

My choice my $$ been paying from 26yrs old to 61 and still paying but im ahead

Edit throw in odd colonoscopy endoscopy etc carpel tunnels

[Taiga]

Nope, the NDP types fight private healthcare options at every turn, it’s totally ridiculous. If we opened up healthcare options in this country it would benefit everybody, rich and poor.

[Old Cowzilla]

Took my wife in for eye surgery in Winnipeg this week 2hrs trip in -30 . Old hospital ,clean well organized friendly staff. Waiting room had other patients from all over province getting same job. One other patient asked what happened 60-70 years ago when older folks had this problem. Nurse bluntly said they went blind back then.Maybe we have been just lucky but so far so good just try to live kinda healthy life. Stress free just feeding cattle and grain farming sure helps.......

[littledoggie]

Au contraire GoalieGuy. The problem in Alberta was the NDP government that we suffered through and the tinkering they did in AHS (Alberta Health Services) when they stacked the board with TOO many NDP hacks that were over paid and under qualified. Since Jason Kenney didn't have the big balls to gut it, Danielle Smith is left cleaning up the mess. At least she is looking at other systems. Canada never learns cause we keep doing the same thing over and over and over again and expecting a different result. NO, we don't want a US style sickcare system. But there are many successful examples of healthcare delivery is other parts of the world. I applaud Danielle Smith.

[Landdownunder]

Interesting topic.
Yeah im not Canadian shouldn't comment, but why demonise me for having private health since I was 26yrs old. Takes me off public list.

[Landdownunder]

As of September 2024, about 55% of Australians had some form of private health insurance that covered general treatment. This is a record number of Australians with private health insurance.
Explanation

• Private health insurance in Australia has been growing since June 2020.
• Australians use private health insurance to access mental health treatment and timely surgery.
• Private health insurance options include hospital cover, extras cover, and ambulance cover.
• Some of the biggest private health insurers in Australia include Medibank, Bupa, HCF, NIB, HBF, Teachers Health, Australian Unity, and GMHBA.

Other health insurance information

• All Australian residents can get healthcare through Medicare, Australia's universal health insurance scheme.
• The most common reasons for not having private health insurance are "Can't afford it" or "It's poor value for money".
• In 2024, the average cost of private health insurance in Australia is around $160 per month for a single person.